Adding a personal touch to your Christmas gifts goes beyond just choosing the perfect present; it’s also about the presentation. This year, elevate your gift-giving with homemade Christmas Gift To And From Tags. Not only is it a thoughtful gesture, but it’s also a fantastic way to upcycle materials you already have at home. Forget store-bought tags and dive into this creative DIY project using cardboard and fabric scraps!
Materials You’ll Need to Craft Your DIY Christmas Gift Tags:
To get started on your unique Christmas gift to and from tags, gather these readily available materials. This project is perfect for using up those bits and bobs you might normally discard!
- Thin Cardboard: Amazon envelope packaging or cereal boxes are ideal.
- Fabric Scraps: Any size and pattern will work – this is a great way to use up leftover pieces from sewing projects.
- Gift Tag Punch: A gift tag punch (like this one) makes creating tag shapes quick and easy, but scissors will also do the trick.
- Ribbon or Twine Scraps: For attaching your tags to gifts.
- Fabric Glue or Kid’s Glue Stick: For temporarily holding fabric in place (optional but helpful).
- Sticky Back Paper or Plain Paper: Recycled paper from your recycling bin works perfectly for backing your tags and providing a writing surface.
- Scissors or Rotary Cutter: For precise cutting of cardboard and fabric.
Step 1: Prepare Your Cardboard Base for Gift Tags
First, transform your recycled cardboard into the foundation of your Christmas gift to and from tags. Using a gift tag punch simplifies this step, especially if you plan to make multiple tags. The punch I used offers three different tag sizes, each determined by the width of your initial cardboard strip. Aim for widths of 1.5″, 2″, or 2.5″ to utilize the punch’s various shapes effectively.
Before punching, remember to cut your cardboard into strips of your chosen width. While it might seem intuitive to punch shapes directly from larger pieces of cardboard, you’ll find it much easier and more efficient to work with strips. Once your strips are cut, use the gift tag punch to create your tag shapes. Feel free to vary the length of your tags to suit different gift sizes and aesthetics – mix shorter and longer tags for a diverse set.
Step 2: Unleash Your Creativity with Fabric Scrap Designs
Now for the fun part – embellishing your cardboard tags with fabric scraps! This is where your creativity can truly shine, turning simple cardboard into charming Christmas gift to and from tags. Fabric scraps, even the tiniest pieces, are perfect for this project. It’s also an excellent opportunity for ‘fussy cutting’, where you carefully cut out specific images or patterns from your fabric to feature on your tags.
Let’s explore a few design ideas to inspire your own unique creations.
Christmas Tree Inspired Gift Tags
Christmas trees are a classic symbol of the season, and they make delightful decorations for your gift tags. Here are a couple of ways to create festive Christmas tree designs using fabric scraps:
Simple Fabric Strips Tree
For a minimalist yet festive look, create a Christmas tree using thin strips of fabric. Cut 3 or 4 strips of fabric, each less than half an inch thick. Trim the ends of each strip so they progressively decrease in length, forming a tree shape.
To attach the fabric strips, apply a small dab of fabric glue or a glue stick to the cardboard tag where you want each strip to sit. Press the fabric strips into place. For added durability and a decorative touch, sew a straight stitch or zig-zag stitch across the strips using a sewing machine. A zig-zag stitch with a length of 1.5 or a straight stitch with a length of 3.5 works well.
Scrappy Corner Christmas Tree
Another charming Christmas tree variation uses those often-discarded fabric corner scraps left over from trimming gussets or quilt binding.
Layer three or more of these corner scraps on top of each other in an overlapping fashion, arranging them to resemble a Christmas tree silhouette.
Sew around the edges of the layered fabric pieces using a zig-zag stitch to secure them to the tag and create a neat finish. Feel free to experiment with different stitch types to achieve your desired look.
Improvised Sewing Designs for Unique Tags
Once you’ve explored Christmas tree designs, let your imagination run wild with more free-form, improvised sewing patterns. This is a fantastic way to use up even more of your fabric stash and create truly one-of-a-kind Christmas gift to and from tags.
Create tags with groupings of Christmas-colored fabric scraps for a festive and vibrant feel.
Incorporate fussy-cut elements from Christmas-themed or woodsy patterned fabrics for tags with intricate details.
Design brighter, more playful tags perfect for kids’ gifts, using cheerful and colorful fabric scraps.
When sewing these fabric pieces onto the tags, there’s no need to backstitch at the beginning or end of your stitching lines. The next step will explain why this is perfectly fine for this project!
Snowflake Fabric Scrap Gift Tag
For a touch of wintery elegance, create a delicate snowflake design on your gift tags.
To make a snowflake tag, cut very thin slivers of white fabric scraps. Dab a touch of glue onto the cardboard tag to hold the fabric in place, and then sew straight lines from point to point in each direction to form a snowflake shape. This simple design is both beautiful and easy to create.
Step 3: Adding Backs to Your Christmas Gift To and From Tags
With the fronts of your tags beautifully decorated, it’s time to address the backs. The stitching from the fabric embellishments will be visible on the reverse side, and you’ll need a smooth surface to write your “to” and “from” information.
Repurpose sticky-back label paper, like leftover strips from shipping labels, to create clean backs for your tags. Cut the label paper to size and stick it directly onto the back of each tag. The sticky paper will neatly cover the stitching and secure any loose thread ends, eliminating the need for backstitching when you sewed on the fabric pieces.
If you don’t have sticky-back paper, you can use regular paper from junk mail envelopes or other recycled paper. Simply cut the paper to size and glue it to the back of the tags using a glue stick or Mod Podge. Another option, similar to a kraft tag tutorial, is to sew two pieces of cardboard together, sandwiching the stitching between them for a cleaner back.
Step 4: Attach Hanging Loops for Easy Gifting
The final step is to add hanging loops so you can easily attach your beautiful DIY Christmas gift to and from tags to your presents.
Use ribbon scraps, twine, or even thin strips of fabric scraps for your loops. Cut short lengths of your chosen material, tie the ends together in a knot, thread the folded end through the hole at the top of the tag, and then loop the knotted end through the fold to secure it.
Your personalized, upcycled Christmas gift to and from tags are now complete and ready to adorn your thoughtfully chosen gifts!
With a little creativity and upcycling, there’s truly no need to buy generic gift tags ever again. Whether you use this fabric scrap method or repurpose last year’s Christmas cards, homemade tags add a special, eco-friendly touch to your holiday gift-giving.
